Yesterday I had a chance to talk to someone new to me and eventually the conversation moved to politics. I don't know if this is a typical phenomenon or not but he said something just like this; "I listen to and follow this guy I listen to on radio because what he says sounds true." I said back to him that he should do his own research on information, and that he is accepting as true from someone else that which is based on faith. I also told him that I listen to many different ideologies on subjects, yet despite whom is offering the information, I test it with my own research before I decide if it is true or not. He didn't seem too upset with me when I said what I said but I could tell I was infringing on his idea of what reality is to him. This is the type of comment about listening and accepting as truth what others say because you "trust" them that gets me irked. I don't trust anyone to tell me truths without verifying them first. It doesn't matter if the information aligns perfectly with my particular belief system or not at all, I always go to the source of the subject and search back out from there. I am not saying that people I know or don't know are purposely trying to mislead, but what I am saying is that people are often mislead. Even more so though is the responsibility I have to myself and the words that emanate from to me to others is to make sure that whatever it is I think I believe is true, must be validated with research and particular citations that hold up the point being made. I cannot and will not allow myself to be a vessel for others to flow their message through. I have a philosophy about our two main human natures, curiosity and compassion, and most everything must originate from those two foundations with an eye toward our species' survival. Given that I have a foundation to begin from, my learning and understanding of what could and should be true, demands that all information be held up to the light of day and observed with the most careful eye of objectivity. I owe that to myself as a requirement of my free will and the control thereof of my duty to utilize my own mind.
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